This invention relates generally to a test piece (i.e., a test specimen) and, more particularly, to a method of manufacturing a self-stressed (mode 1) fracture mechanics test piece, and also to the novel structure of the test piece itself.
An urgent need arose in the art for the results of a fracture mechanics test in order to evaluate a concept; and, as a result of that need, the manufacture of a plurality of identical test pieces became necessary.
My inventive fracture mechanics test piece, and the method of manufacturing that test piece, are the outgrowth of that necessity, and constitute a significant advance in the state-of-the-art.